The Third Circle (Arcane Society Book 04) Read Online Free PDF Page A

into the carriage.
    In the blink of a demonic eye, the interior of the cab was transformed into a dark dreamscape. A creature the size of a large dog perched on the seat beside him. But the monstrosity was no dog. Eight feathery legs projected from its glistening, bulbous body. Moonlight glinted darkly on soulless, multifaceted eyes. Poison dripped from its fangs.
    A ghostly face appeared at the window. The eye sockets were empty black holes. The mouth opened on a silent shriek.
    He caught a hint of movement to his left. He did not need to turn his head to know that what crouched there possessed scaly, clawed feet and antennae that writhed like tormented worms.
    The windows of the carriage no longer looked out onto the night-darkened woods. Instead they revealed unearthly scenes from another dimension. Volcanic rivers flowed through trees fashioned of black ice. Strange birds with the heads of snakes perched on the frozen branches.
    He possessed just enough awareness to know that he was a fool to believe that willpower alone could contain the nightmares. Delbridge’s poison had been churning through his blood for at least fifteen minutes, doing its foul work. Now it was in full control.
    The astonishing thing was that he no longer gave a damn.
    “Mr. Ware?”
    Leona’s voice, the voice that he would know anywhere, came to him out of the darkness.
    “Too late,” he said, amused by her tone of concern. “Welcome to my nightmare. Things aren’t so unpleasant here once you get used to the place.”
    “Mr. Ware, you must listen to me.”
    Hot lust surged through him. She was only inches away, his for the taking. He had never wanted a woman more, and there was nothing to stop him.
    “I can help you fight the hallucinations,” she said.
    “But I do not wish to fight them,” he said softly. “Indeed, I am enjoying them. And so will you.”
    Impatiently she yanked off the wig, reached inside her coat and removed an object. He could not see what it was, but a few seconds later moonlight glowed between her hands.
    Now he saw her for the first time. Her dark hair was pinned into a tight coil on top of her hair, revealing features that could only be described as striking, although not in the way that was generally associated with great beauty. Instead he saw intelligence, determination and a certain delicate sensitivity in her face. Her mouth looked very soft. Eyes of molten amber gleamed with feminine power. Nothing was more seductive.
    “Sorceress,” he whispered, fascinated.
    She flinched as though he had struck her. “What?”
    He smiled. “Nothing.” He looked down at the crystal, intrigued. “What is this? Another one of my hallucinations?”
    “It is the aurora stone, Mr. Ware. I am going to walk through your dreams with you.”

3
    SHE HAD NOT HELD the aurora stone in her hands since her sixteenth summer, but it responded instantly to the energy she sent into its heart. No longer a dull, murky white, it glowed with the faint inner light that signaled it was now alive with power. She held it in the palm of her hand and gazed into its depths, focusing all of her senses. The stone brightened visibly.
    She could not explain how she was able to access the energy of certain crystals. It was a talent passed down through the generations on the female side of her family. Her mother had possessed a gift for working crystal. So had her grandmother and the many great-grandmothers before her for at least two hundred years.
    “Look deeply into the crystal, Mr. Ware,” she said.
    He ignored the instructions. A slow, sensual smile etched his mouth and raised every hair on the nape of her neck.
    “I would rather look deeply into you,” he said, employing the dark, irresistible voice he had used earlier to try to mesmerize her.
    She shivered. The atmosphere had altered. A moment ago Thaddeus had been waging a savage battle to hold on to his sanity in the face of the rising tide of hallucinations, but now he seemed to be